Global Chair
New York
Rich Lesser is the Global Chair of Boston Consulting Group (BCG), where he engages with CEOs, boards of directors, and senior leaders around the world on critical topics, including climate and sustainability, resilience, and purpose. He served as BCG’s CEO from 2013 to 2021, a period of exceptional growth for the firm. During his tenure as CEO, Rich built new units to create BCG’s digital business-building, advanced analytics, and machine learning and AI capabilities, and launched the BCG Center for Climate & Sustainability. He was named the Top CEO in the US by Glassdoor in 2021.
Rich serves as Chief Advisor to the World Economic Forum’s Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders, and as a co-chair or member of several other leading organizations, including the First Movers Coalition, Breakthrough Energy Catalyst, the Southern Communities Initiative, and the Council for Inclusive Capitalism, where he co-led the Just Energy Transition workstream. He previously served on the Business Roundtable board of directors, where he led the CEO COVID-19 Taskforce. He accelerated BCG’s strong investments in social impact through its longstanding partnerships, including the World Food Programme, Save the Children, and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), along with many global health and environmental initiatives.
Rich served as BCG’s chairman for North and South America from 2009 to 2012, and as head of the New York Metro office system from 2000 to 2009. Prior to joining BCG in 1988, Rich worked in product development at Procter & Gamble. He serves on the University of Michigan College of Engineering Leadership Advisory Board.
Joaquin Duato, chairman and CEO of Johnson & Johnson, and Dr. Bernd Montag, CEO of Siemens Healthineers, highlight three top priorities for CEOs this year: strategizing for growth, building financial resilience, and delivering societal impact through sustainability and health equity.
Bristol Myers Squibb CEO Giovanni Caforio joins Dexcom CEO Kevin Sayer to discuss the importance of partnerships, inequities in health care, how to best care for patients, and more.
BCG's Rich Lesser describes the critical role that purpose plays in his conversations with business leaders today. Though barely discussed five to ten years ago, purpose is now a key imperative for companies--and it must extend beyond delivering value to shareholders.
Albert Bourla, Chairman and CEO of Pfizer, explains why company culture must drive innovation and agility.
Rich Lesser discusses why leaders have to keep diversity, equity, and inclusion at the top of their agendas today.
BCG's partnership with TED is built on the belief that ideas are worth sharing and can have a real-world impact. With 138 TED Talks viewed over 143 million times online, we are excited to look back at the powerful ideas presented by BCG experts, and beyond.
BCG’s Rich Lesser and Nan DasGupta, leader of the firm’s Women@BCG program in North America, discuss the challenges facing women right now and the actions we can take to make a difference.
Coming off of the heels of the first-ever virtual Davos, CEO Rich Lesser and Managing Director & Senior Partner Mai-Britt Poulsen sat down to discuss what took place during WEF's annual event, and how it will shape the views of business leaders in 2021.